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SL-74 Individual Combat Weapons System
Overview The SL-74 was designed as the answer to the UNSC's problems with the aging MA series, problems included overall bulk, impractical design, recoil and weight. The official requests for a new weapon originated from Tom-B292, a SPARTAN-III stationed on Onyx. Oddly, the MA5K had little to no problems with Tom's S-III comrades, but instead he expressed concern over the MA5's use for normal UNSC soldiers, nearly unheard of from the S-III Program. Tom's original design appeared to be a stripped down MA5, with unnecessary components such as the electronic sight/ammunition counter, the heavy-duty grip, and metal stock all removed. His design was originally nicknamed 'Spartan Lite' by Chief Mendez, a play on the actual acronym Superior Light combat/Assault Rifle or 'SLar-52'. The request was recieved, filtered and modified by the Office of Naval Intelligence and sent to Misriah's M6/GUNGNIR Development Group, who had recently completed the Galilean, M6S, and Gungnir projects. The initial design was similar to the outdated CR-74 rifle, which had been used by the CMA before its dissolution, as such the rifle was redesignated as an updated version of the old, reliable CR-74, which admittedly was more advanced than the MA37 and MA5 Rifles at the time. SL-74 Rifles had a significant advantage over the MA Series, the most notable of which was their lighter, thinner design, and overall smaller silhouette. The main concern for the SL Rifles however, was the request to utilize the lesser known 6.8x43 round, that had been reserved for nothing but aging anti-missile guns on wet navy vessels. The 6.8's main advantage, despite a less kinetic power than the 7.62x51 was the 'tumbling' effect after penetration, negating the need for 'shredder rounds'. The original design also asked for limited standard configuration rifles for special operations, though the bullpup rifle was to be the standard. The SL-74 rifle completed development on January 21st 2551, and has since become a favourite of Wet Navy Personnel, and Headhunter Teams. The noticeable success of the rifle also called for a special operations variant, which further removed unnecessary components from the standard rifle, removing all but the necessary protection, frame, reciever, barrel (which was significantly shortened) and pistol grip known as the SL-74C Carbine. An offspring project of the SL-74 is the SL-75 Submachine Gun. History The SL-74 Assault Rifle saw limited deployments in the Marine Corps, but was embraced and popularized in the Army, and Wet Navy branches. As such the SL-74 saw deployment in numerous theatres of combat, including the Fall of Reach and the Battle of Oasis as Noble and Gauntlet Team's loadouts. The Rifle also became popular in the S-III headhunter branch for its small, unreflective build. Due to the SL's popularity, Misriah also designated a Carbine, and Submachine gun variant which was deployed only to Special Warfare branches, though purchasable by Navy personnel at a lower price. Development The SL Rifle was developed by Tom-B292, Chief Mendez, and Misriah's M6 branch. (Manufactured by Misriah's M(A)5 branch). Deployment UNSCDF Marine Corps: Limited avaliability, 350 purchased by 105th Drop Jet Platoon (unit retrained in 2549) UNSCDF Navy: 14,000 Rifles purchased by Wet Navy units. UNSCDF Army: 22,000 purchased by 49th Colonial Defense Army on Tribute, 2,000 sold to Reach. Voron, V/ORION-3 Project: 25,000 SL-74A3+SL75A2 purchased in 2622 Voron, V/ORION-2 Project: 200 Purchased Gallery